This song is Swift's response to the negative reputation the media has given her.
"I can make the bad guys good for a weekend" - the bad guys are the paparazzi to Swift, but are good to the "player" since association with Swift immediately gives publicity. Any publicity is good publicity and Swift knows this.
"You can tell me when it's over" - the tabloids rumor relationships are over before the couple announces it officially.
With this song Swift is portraying the way she is portrayed by the media.
It is a sarcastic jab at how she views herself and how her "ex-lovers" only wanted to be with her to increase their fame.
I applaud the brilliance in writing about how you always write about relationships.
It is expected so Swift is giving the media what they want and profiting off the attention.
Where have all the good men gone
And where are all the Gods?
Where's the streetwise Hercules to fight the rising odds?
Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?
Late at night, I toss and I turn
And I dream of what I need
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light
He's gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life
Larger than life (ah, ah)
Somewhere after midnight
In my wildest fantasy
Somewhere just beyond my reach
There's someone reaching back for me
Racing on the thunder and rising with the heat
It's gonna take a Superman to sweep me off my feet (yeah)
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light
He's gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
Up where the mountains meet the heavens above
Out where the lightning splits the sea
I could swear there is someone, somewhere
Watching me
Through the wind and the chill and the rain
And the storm and the flood
I can feel his approach like a fire in my blood
(Like a fire in my blood, like a fire in my blood)
(Like a fire in my blood, like a fire in my, oh, oh)
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light
He's gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light
He's gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
Woo, woo, woo, woo
Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo
Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo
Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo
Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo
Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo
Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo
Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo
Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo
And where are all the Gods?
Where's the streetwise Hercules to fight the rising odds?
Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?
Late at night, I toss and I turn
And I dream of what I need
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light
He's gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life
Larger than life (ah, ah)
Somewhere after midnight
In my wildest fantasy
Somewhere just beyond my reach
There's someone reaching back for me
Racing on the thunder and rising with the heat
It's gonna take a Superman to sweep me off my feet (yeah)
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light
He's gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
Up where the mountains meet the heavens above
Out where the lightning splits the sea
I could swear there is someone, somewhere
Watching me
Through the wind and the chill and the rain
And the storm and the flood
I can feel his approach like a fire in my blood
(Like a fire in my blood, like a fire in my blood)
(Like a fire in my blood, like a fire in my, oh, oh)
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light
He's gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light
He's gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
Woo, woo, woo, woo
Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo
Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo
Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo
Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo
Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo
Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo
Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo
Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo
Lyrics submitted by Boonechic_21
Holding Out for a Hero Lyrics as written by James Richard Steinman Dean Pitchford
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings

Blank Space
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift

Mad Hatter
Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold
Matt Shadows their lead singer says the song was written as per request from the developers of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Watching the initial trailers for the game & looking at production sketches reminded him of the 'S-Town' podcast & its main protagonist, John B. McLemore. Matt also comments specifically on the lyrics: "I decided that the lyrics would shadow McLemore's life." In 2012, antiquarian horologist John B. McLemore sent an email to the staff of the show 'This American Life' asking them to investigate an alleged murder in his hometown of Woodstock, Alabama, a place McLemore claimed to despise. After a year of exchanging emails & several months of conversation with McLemore, producer Brian Reed traveled to Woodstock to investigate. Reed investigated the crime & eventually found that no such murder took place, though he struck up a friendship with the depressed but colorful character of McLemore. He recorded conversations with McLemore & other people in Woodstock. McLemore killed himself by drinking potassium cyanide on June 22, 2015 while the podcast was still in production. In the narrative of the podcast, this occurs at the end of the second episode; subsequent episodes deal with the fallout from McLemore's death while exploring more of McLemore's life & character.

MAZZA
slowthai & A$AP Rocky
slowthai & A$AP Rocky
This track is the first official collaboration between the rappers. It was produced by SAMO, slowthai himself & Kwes Darko. The track was released on January 5, 2021, in anticipation of his latest studio album titled "TYRON".

Hypnotized
River Tiber
River Tiber
This standout psychedelic track was produced in its entirety by River Tiber, being released to all major digital streaming platforms on December 29, 2020.

Still Luv
Kennedy Rd.
Kennedy Rd.
This standout song off her eponymously named album was produced by AVB & Itsashleetho and released on December 28, 2020.
The song was written by Jim 'Everything's A Melodrama' Steinman and Dean Pitchford (the latter was the screenwriter for the movie "Footloose", and he wrote the nine songs featured in the soundtrack). For this song's scene, Pitchford employed the help of Steinman to create an over-the-top dramatic (some might say 'cheesy') anthem for a climatic scene in the film.
Steinman suggested Bonnie Tyler for the singer, since he'd worked with her in the past and was impressed with her ability (and her suitability for such a...powerful song).
...and Tyler nailed it when they recorded it - her performance just embodies the thrill, anxiety, tension, the 'building storm' that the song brings to mind.
It's been used in many movies, shows (and even games) for the archetypal 'race to the rescue' scene/climax, because IT WORKS PERFECTLY FOR THAT.
I won't comment on the covers since I haven't gotten around to listening to any of them; I'm still listening to this rendition regularly, over thirty years later.